The present invention relates to a valve assembly for rapidly filling containers with metered quantities of materials. More specifically, the valve assembly of the present invention is provided for filling containers, such as flexible packages, with beverages.
Various systems are known for filling containers, such as flexible packages, with beverages or particulate material. These systems use various types of valves, which have internal actuators for the valve elements. These actuators may be pneumatic or electrical, as desired.
However, these known valve assemblies with internal actuators present various problems. First of all, the internal actuators make it difficult to clean the interior of the valve assemblies, especially when a syrupy beverage or a citrus juice is being dispensed. Furthermore, the internal valve actuators are generally not as durable as needed, and are difficult to repair, since the entire valve must be disassembled to make such repairs.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art in filling machines for containers for durable valve assemblies which are easy to repair and easy to clean.
Accordingly, it is a primary aspect of the present invention to provide a valve assembly for use in rapidly filling containers with liquids, such as beverages, particulate materials, or the like which is durable, easy to repair, and easy to clean.
These aspects of the present invention are fulfilled by providing a valve assembly for filling containers with metered quantities of material comprising: a frame for supporting the valve assembly; a housing defining a valve body, and a chamber therein, said chamber having open top and bottom ends, substantially, and smooth interior sidewalls, said valve body having an openable bottom end in a lower portion thereof; a valve element for opening and closing the openable bottom end for accommodating or blocking, respectively, the flow of the materials through the openable bottom end; and an actuator device for imparting relative movement between the valve element and the openable bottom end to achieve open and closed positions thereof, said actuator device being disposed outside of said valve body and out of contact with materials therein.
The valve assembly includes a bracket supporting the valve body, and an annular bracket around a movable portion of the valve body for supporting the actuator device and operating the valve.
The chamber within the valve assembly is preferably an open-top chamber with a funnel-shape for containing the materials to be dispensed from the valve assembly. The open top is connectable to a filling conduit.
A disc is disposed in space relation to the bottom openable end of the chamber, and has a central bore for fixedly supporting a central pin extending from the valve element. Flow ports are provided in the disc surrounding the central aperture for accommodating liquid or material flow therethrough.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the actuator device comprises an air cylinder assembly. The lower section of the valve body is provided with a concentric sleeve telescopically disposed on the main portion of the valve body, and pistons thereof are mechanically linked to the annular bracket secured to the lower portion of the valve body. Preferably, a pair of air cylinders is provided, which are symmetrically disposed on the support bracket about the valve body.
The valve assembly of the present invention, and its preferred use, is included within supply conduits of a filler unit disposed in an assembly line for rapidly filling a succession of containers, such as flexible packages.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.